


The Pack Survives

by AnnaLiss17



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bruises, Canon Divergence - Red Wedding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Past Abuse, Physical Abuse, Protective Robb Stark, Robb Lives, Sibling Incest, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-02-27 07:16:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18734236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaLiss17/pseuds/AnnaLiss17
Summary: Alternate Universe where the Red Wedding doesn't happen, Theon was loyal from the beginning, Jaime keeps his word and Sansa leaves King's Landing with Sandor.Warned by Bran whom Theon was sent to protect at Winterfell while Robb was at war, through his greenseeing powers, Theon rides to the Twins and warns Robb that he is going to be murdered at his uncle's wedding. Together they defeat him and the Red Wedding doesn't happen. Under Jaime's command, keeping his promise to Catelyn, the Hound brings back Sansa to his camp after she leaves with him King's Landing during the Battle of The Blackwater.Sansa is physically and mentally scarred and Robb doesn't recognize her anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this story belongs to Anand, I am just the writer. I hope you like what I have written so far.

The first time Catelyn caught her son ruining his sword against an unfortunate tree, which had wronged him with nothing, he learned of his father's execution. This is the second time she sees him in the same position, lashing out his anger at another tree and approaches him cautiously. "Robb..." He slashes three more times before he stops.

"I should have listened to you." He cried to her, wishing he had taken the matter at hand more seriously. "I should have known better..." He chokes on his own tears, shakes his head hard before striking at the tree on more time with much more than all of the others combined. Letting out a loud frustrated cry as well, Robb drops his sword at his feet. "Mother, I destroyed her."

"You didn't do anything any other King in your position wouldn't have done." She tells him gently. She wants to break down and cry as well, but her son needs her to be strong so he can be strong. A King he might be, but the title does not years to his young age. "It's the Lannisters who had destroyed her spirit, but one way or another, even if it will cost me my last breath, I will see my child as a wolf of the North once again."

He crashes into her embrace and clings to her damning whoever might see him like this and judge him. "I'll kill them all." He sobs. "I'll torture them for weeks and bathe in their blood. I'll gift her Cersei's head as a drinking cup and Joffrey's life as her newest toy." He will not stop until he has them all at his feet. "I will make them wish they never crossed us."

There are tears in Catelyn's eyes. She is glad he cannot see them and she struggles to keep her voice still. "And we will make them regret every single decision they made against us." Every single one of them. "But Robb, you need to go." The war can wait for another day. "Your sister needs you now more than you need your revenge." As her House's words say. Family. Duty. Honor.

Under Jaime Lannister's command, which is what surprised the better part of the northern army if not all that even a Kingslayer can be a man of his word when he wants to, Sandor Clegane this morning had safely brought to their camp Sansa Stark. The future lady of Winterfell was back with her people and with her keen. Robb had been there to greet them along with his counselors and a couple of guards.

Greywind had barely contained his excitement when he smelled another Stark and ran up to them, scaring the horse to near death. Sansa's face was covered by a hooded cloak, but Robb had seen a pale hand reaching out to touch the wolf. He could've sworn he had seen some cuts or scars, but he told himself that is not possible. The Lannisters know very well the consequences of harming a high born lady as Sansa.

Catelyn had nearly ran up to her as well, barely holding back her excitement to see her daughter alive, for she thought she was approaching them too slowly. That was her first clue. She should've been happier to be here. She was back with her family, her people. Yet, Sansa doesn't raise her eyes from the ground and keeps her head bowed down. The Hound introduces himself and then demands food for they had a long and tiring travel.

Catelyn reaches out to touch her, but she flinches at her mother's touch. Quick enough her movements change back before anyone else notices. That was the second clue that she was dealing with a stranger and no longer the child she had brought to the world. She gives Robb a worried look, but he was already leading them away. Catelyn remains behind and goes to pray. 

"The North is in your debt, Ser. Anything you might request if it is in our power we shall give it to you in double." Robb says maintaining an impassive tone. He has no words to express his gratitude. At war, Jon at the Wall, Bran and Rickon alone in Winterfell, Arya somewhere in King's Landing perhaps (who must hate him now for leaving her behind twice the amount she ever hated Sansa)

"I ain't no damn, Ser." Clegane growls, biting into the chicken leg hard. He chews and grimaces at the taste of war food. If there was one good about King's Landing was their food, debatable sometimes too. He sees a man holding a canteen and snatches it from his hands. "Gimme that." Drowns the wine and gets rid of that terrible taste in his mouth. But it's chicken so, he'll eat it anyway.

Robb bites his lip to hold back a snarl. He must be a great man on the battlefield to be such a brute at the table. Joffrey wouldn't choose just anyone from the streets to protect him. He turns to his sister and looks at her warmly. "Do you want anything specific? I can have the cooks make you whatever you want." Their resources are limited, but he'll give her anything she wants.

"I'm fine, Your Grace. You are very kind." Her voice is small, not as high pitched as he remembered, she speaks so quietly that he has to lean in a bit to hear her better. There is more noise outside, voices sounding louder than her. She keeps her hands to herself, the fork and knife unmoved from their position. He realizes now she hadn't taken a single bite.

"You haven't touched your food." He notices the plate that looks as it did when it was first brought.

"It is delicious, Your Grace. My compliments to the cooks. Thank for your hospitality."

Robb grows unsettled by her behavior. If she wants something else... "Sansa-"

The Hound cuts him off. "How about we discuss my payment?" And gets a few dirty looks from the guards for interrupting the King. "Outside prying eyes." He adds giving them the same look, then at Robb expectantly. "I'm not going to move your gracious ass for you." He doesn't know how the Northerners do their things, but he hasn't moved Joffrey's ass and he certainly won't start now for the King he does not serve.

Robb nods, stands and follows him outside. The Hound lowers his tone, marking each word. "Listen up, boy. You better be careful around her. They fucked her head pretty bad and the only thing she knows is that her brother didn't consider her important enough to rescue her." Robb wants to protest, but Sandor doesn't let him. "Take it easy, she's had more than her fair share of deal."

The King in the North remains silent for a moment, shaken at what he learned. As if awakened from his sleep abruptly, he adds dutifully. "Your payment." Seeing no relation between their houses and the regions they serve, he sees no further business for the Hound. Skilled as the words tell he is, after all, he serves the enemy.

"Give me my fucking money in double, triple, whatever amount your mummy tells you to." Sandor doesn't know how many had noticed that, but to him, it was clear as the Sun rises from the east that he doesn't step outside her word. "But I am not leaving until I make sure the little bird is alright. I didn't bring her all this way to see her tormented by her own family." He didn't risk his neck to bring her from one lion's den to another.

Robb grits his teeth and breath in to calm himself. "That is hardly any of your business." He trusts him as much as he trusts the Lannisters.

"I don't care if it's my dead aunt's business!" The Hound barks out. He raises a few suspicious eyes, but nothing more. "If I see her suffer at your hands the way she did at the Lannisters, boy, mark my words, I'll take her back and you'll never see her again." He doesn't give a fuck about the King in the South, why should he give one about the King in the North? There is yet to appear the person who tells him what to do.

"Thank you for your advice, Ser Clegane. The night is rising, I will have a tent arranged for you." Robb forces himself to remember that Clegane is the one who brought Sansa back when he didn't. The man deserves his respect, but not his trust. At least not yet. Sandor grunts out something, but Robb is long out of his hearing sight.

He returns to the tent and his down next to his sister. "Sansa. Would you like to share your tent with mine?" He asks her with some kind of timidity. He knows it is improper, he doesn't know how she will react to his proposal, but at the same time he can't, won't, let her out of his sight. He trusts his men with his life and safety But not with hers. Not anymore.

"If it pleases you, Your Grace." Sansa says quietly, refusing to meet his eye. He tries to find her eyes, but her look sticks on the dirty ground beneath her feet.

"You don't have to call me that." He tells her softly. His hand tries to reach out to find her, but she keeps them to her side. "You can stay with me in my tent, Greywind and I will keep you safe. You'll be alright." He doesn't want her to do this to appeal to him. He wants to be her decision. "You have nothing to be afraid of anymore." He is not Joffrey. Not Jaime. Certainly not Tywin or Cersei. If only she could understand that.

"Whatever you wish, Your Grace..." Robb nods defeatedly. Bites his lip in frustration as it downs to him she is no longer the girl he once knew. Then he notices her plate is still untouched.

He goes and starts slashing at the tree with his sword, imagining he is slashing the Lannisters' faces along with every single man who fights on their side.

After talking to his mother, finding comfort in her words and arms, he drags his legs to his own tent. He finds Sansa there, sitting on the side of his bed with Greywind at her feet. She has her hands in his fur, but when he notices she draws them back. He wants to tell her its alright. He wants to tell her how sorry he is. He wishes to promise her revenge and that she will be happy once again. He can't...

Pouring himself some wine, he swallows nervously before drowning the cup. Then the whole wine there is. He walks to her and kneels at her feet. She makes an attempt to make a move, but his hands keep her still. She flinches at his touch with a short terrified gasp and her hands fly to cover her mouth. It is then when he breaks down in tears. "I'm sorry." And buries his head in her lap. "I'm so sorry." He sobs out.

Greywind whines softly at his sorrow and he cries even harder, half drunk half self-conscious. He brought her in this state. He believed she's fine when she's been tormented and forced into submission. She fell into the lion's pit, got eaten alive and it was all his fault. Only his fault. He mutters out apology after apology, soaking her dress with his tears. After what feels like ages, he feels a small soft hand going through his curls.

"You did what you had to do."

No. He didn't. What he should have done as her big brother was to get her out of King's Landing right after he learned of father's imprisonment. Instead, he chose to leave her there after reading the letter, only now he truly believes, she was forced to write. He should've known! He should've done better by her! He should've... but he didn't. And she paid the price. Fully and severely.

When he falls asleep, he is not sure. He knows he drops onto the bed, exhausted, cried out, angry, loathing himself. She wishes him a good night and calls him again Your Grace. He sleeps even worse after he hears that.

Sansa dreams in that night that it was all a prank. That Ser Jaime had arranged to have her fooled and paid Ser Clegane good money to pretend he is taking her to her family. That she never truly saw Robb or her mother, or Theon. She sees King Joffrey laughing at her for being such an idiot to believe that she was safe, he laughs with tears and the Queen along with him as she cries waiting for her next punishment.

Robb wakes up startled, his head aching, confused and most of all on attack mode when he feels something shaking next to him. It takes him a moment to realize it's Sansa who is crying in her sleep and not Greywind who climbed his bed to rest with him again. And he takes another unsure of what to do, afraid to do her more harm than well. He whispers her name and gently caresses her head.

He does that a couple of times, from the tip of her head, where her red hair grows from, down to her jaw whispering her name. She unconsciously brings her hand to her mouth and shrieks into it. That's when he saw enough and gives her body one powerful shake loudly calling out her name. She jumps and he covers her mouth his hand before she can scream. He doesn't want the guards to disturb them. 

She looks at him in terror and throws herself in his arms. He lets her cry herself back to sleep while every bit of his body refuses to let her go. When she finally calms and falls back asleep, only then he allows himself to do the same still with her in his arms. She doesn't wake again through the night and neither does he.

In the morning, he requests to have his breakfast brought to him in his tent and commands that he is not to be disturbed unless there is a battle to be fought. Robb doesn't plan on touching his food until she does no matter how much or how loud his stomach is grumbling. He sees now as he had not seen her yesterday. Pale. Thin. Submissive. Enslaved. Beaten. Broken. Hurt. Depressed. And most of all, he sees her dead. 

"It's really good." He tries to encourage her. "I've had it myself many mornings. I remember you used to like this." It's obviously a lie. What they had in Winterfell was much better. They can't afford what they used to when they were not at war. They can't even afford to dream of the next day for no one knows what today will bring. Only the Gods. The bloody Gods to whom she must've desperately prayed for mercy.

"I am certain it is Your Grace."

He closes his eyes and exhales loudly. "Robb." He corrects her softly. "My name is Robb. I am your brother, not your King." He will be her damn buffon if that will make her smile again with the funny costume and hat, the whole package. He chose to apply another tact. "I don't plan on eating until I see that you do as well." And thankfully, sadly at the same time, it works.

They eat in silence. She takes a few bites, waits before taking a couple more. He knows he can't convince her to finish it all. "Would like to walk with me?" Sansa looks at him in surprise. He wasn't sure it was going to work. "I have seen some astonishing grounds and I am sure that you would love them as well." He continues. "We can bring Greywind along. I'm sure he'd love a walk too."

He is a little jealous that his sister trusts him more than his wolf, yet he is grateful at the same time. He sees her looking at him lovingly and longingly. Certainly a reminder of the wolf she had lost as well. "Thank you, Your Grace." She thanks him petting Greywind, her eyes only on the wolf. It only makes sense that she would prefer animals over humans. Animals had provided her happiness.

Humans proved themselves to be worse than animals.

Robb goes outside to have everything prepared and chooses who will be guarding them. The first man assigned is Theon, Theon who is loyal to him as is his direwolf. Theon who had chosen House Stark over House Greyjoy. The man who was sent to protect Bran and Rickon at Winterfell, who wildly rode back to warn him about Lord Frey. Lord Frey who planned to have him and his army wiped out of the war.

He could have died there and then. He could have lost everything. Yet, Theon arrived in time and together they defeated the man who planned to have them all murdered at his own daughter's wedding. Frey wanted to wipe out the King in the North and his army, taken out of the War of The Five Kings. Instead, he died himself along with his House. Robb and his men murdered them all, fighting side by side with his childhood best friend.

Theon is one of the few men Robb allows himself to be himself and drop the crown. "Your Grace." Robb feels nauseous hearing once again that title and curses on the inside. He wants to scream, to abdicate the throne he doesn't have, and revoke ever being King. The ironborn notices that, the rumors he heard being confirmed to him silently by his King.

"They've broken her in a million ways and I am of no help." He didn't admit that to his mother. She needed him to be strong for her. He didn't admit it to his men, they needed him to be strong. Theon only needs him to be honest and he knows that. "I don't know what to do." It feels like there is hope for her, but he is too dumb to see it. How can his people expect him to rule them when he can't even fix his own sister?

"It will take time to heal, but no emotional wound is unhealable." Theon's words are wise, but Robb is not sure he knows the extent, the depth, of Sansa's change. "You're doing great by her just because you are here. She will be smiling again, just you wait." The young Wolf wants to believe that with his whole heart. "It will do me great honor to join you on your walk." Robb doesn't have the words to express his gratitude.

He informs his mother of his plans, makes sure once again that everything is in place and goes to retrieve Sansa. They walk in silence for quite a while. He sees she is indeed awed by the breathtaking views and is pleased with that. She seems to him like the child who sees their first snow. It warms his heart to see her this way.

Theon walks up to them, breaking the formation they left camp in. "Hey, Sansa." She looks at him as if she had been brought back to Earth from whatever nice place she was in. "Want to hear a joke?" Robb wants to intervene a little upset because for five minutes she seemed to be at peace, if not then she certainly played well the part visually, but leaves the choice to her and his words behind.

Hearing no protest, taking the silence as an affirmative answer he continues. "Two scientists go exploring into the woods one day. One of them suddenly sees a very rare leaf. Not green, not brown. Not big, not small. Not too weird, not too normal either. He excitedly goes to his friend and tells him about it, to which the second man replies." He pauses to wait dramatically for the punch line and leans in towards her with a grin. "I can't be-leaf you."

The silence that follows after that confirms Robb his biggest fear. Sansa was beyond recovery. It was done. The Lannisters pushed her over the breaking point, killed her spirit and left her body behind as proof. Tears well up in his eyes, his heart clenches in pain, a new wave of self-loathing hitting him again harder than ever.

And that's when he hears it. A soft giggle, so small and shy for a moment he thinks he imagined it that evolves quickly in full laughter. It sounded so strange to hear her laugh again that he turns to her a little too surprised than he intended, but she pays him no attention and keeps laughing. The smile that covers his face doesn't match her's, but it's certainly bigger and brighter than what his men had seen so far.

There was still hope for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Returned to the camp in a much brighter state than when he left, Robb was just mildly annoyed when another meeting was set in his absence. He hated them with his entire being, preferring a thousand times over to be on the battlefield where the real difference could be made, than to waste his time planning something the enemy might have already thought of or come up with a backup plan as well.

But he knew what he was getting himself into when he accepted to be King. His people might have given him that title, but ultimately it was he who accepted it. He who would've chosen to go home, if that were an option at the time, if survival and peace were guaranteed. But he knew there was a war to be fought and he knew his people would've killed him themselves if he chose to take a step back.

He hated to leave Sansa now when he believed they were finally taking a step forward and not one backward. He wanted to go back in time and listen to her laugh at Theon's joke. Seeing her in that position, after everything he heard they did to her, that short-lived minute where she chose to let go of her manners and enjoy the moment was enough to make him forget about the mess they were in and take a relaxing breath. 

With a sincere apology, Robb parted ways with his sister and followed his men to prepare their next move.

* * *

 Catelyn entered her tent doing her best to keep her composure. That was her daughter there, one of the two she believed she might never see again. Her thoughts immediately after she sees her go to Arya and it brings tears in her eyes and a pang of guilt in her heart feeling, knowing, she had failed her as a mother. Swallowing her nerves, she fiddles with her hands and realizes she doesn't even know where to begin with.

How does she approach her abused daughter without causing her more distress than relief? She had often heard about what vile men did to their women or women they had no connection with, but she never imagined something like that happening in her family. The Gods had gifted her a wonderful husband, a man many women dream to have and very few get to. She was one of those lucky women and it pained her.

Because if she were given the chance to switch places with her daughter, she'd do it without thinking twice. Anything to see her Sansa happy again, for now she is a mere ghost of who she was. A sad memory of whom she had been. The maids are braiding her hair when she comes in, stop to curtesy before her, then get back to their task. Sansa acknowledges her from the mirror's reflection.

"Lady Mother." She greets her quietly with a small smile that is so fake and so well trained it pains Catelyn even more to see it. She realizes she would have been happier to see tears or anger than the false appearance of her daughter being fine. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her eyes betray her uncertainty, questioning herself the motives of her mother's unexpected visit.

"I came to see how you are faring, my darling." Catelyn has a sour taste in her mouth after her eyes see her daughter's braids matching exactly Queen Cersei's. If it weren't for her red hair then Sansa would have been confused as the Queen's daughter instead of hers. "I heard the ride into the woods with your brother has been very... refreshing."

"Indeed, his Grace has been nothing but kind to me." The way she answers, so stoic, as if it was a speech she learned as soon she could talk, every line she speaks sounding so rehearsed, has Catelyn become very rigid and dejected. Where was her sweet child? She wondered. Was there still hope for the phantom before her to become human again? "What do you think of my hair, lady mother?"

"It matches Queen Cersei's to the last strand." The Lady of Winterfell notes bitterly. Sansa spent so much time with the lions she unknowingly became either their meat or one of them... Catelyn lowers her head in shame, knowing she and only she was at fault and to blame for. Sansa turns to the mirror pleased with her mother's answer and fixes herself some loose hairs.

The maids courtesy and take their leave. Only after they leave, they speak again. "You could have come to me." Catelyn says softly. "I would've gladly braided your hair." Braided her hair. Sewed her new dresses. Have supper with her. Anything. She'd do anything for her no matter what is asked and no matter the time, daylight or night light, good or bad.

Sansa goes still. Her eyes pierce Catelyn through the mirror's reflection. "I appreciate that lady mother, but being in our Queen's presence for longer than you have has me more experienced in braiding my hair like hers than you are." She didn't want to get it wrong. She didn't want the word spread out reaching eventually the Queen and make her feel insulted.

Catelyn is shocked at her answer. Few things have shocked her this badly in her life and this, she never believed this would be one of them. She freezes despite the heat and forgets herself for a moment, simply standing there watching her daughter foolishly expecting her to burst out laughing and say that she was only joking. "Sansa." She whispers her name heavily, the question impossible to ask. "Who is your King?"

She turns around to give her mother the same look that she had. "King Joffrey, of course." She answers as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He is the King of the Seven Kingdoms. He is the King I serve and the man I love."

The next question she has for her daughter is even harder to ask, too afraid of its answer. "And what does that make of Robb?"

Caught offguard, Sansa's eyes fall on the ground. She knew she mustn't insult them in any way, but... "King Robb... New kings are rising with every sunrise. We mustn't forget that our true King is King Joffrey." If she ever claimed the otherwise she was certain she'd lose her head for it. Everything has eyes and ears and sees and hears. Just one word reaching the King or Queen and she is done for.

The Lady of Winterfell is silent for a very long time. Convinced there is nothing more she can do, knowing a defeat when she sees one, Catelyn takes her leave.

* * *

 "What are you thinking about?" Robb is caught by Theon's voice. The ironborn had noticed his King during the meeting simply standing there in silence answering only when he was asked, present with his body, but far away with his mind and thoughts. What they discussed wasn't too important luckily, but Theon knew he wasn't the only one who noticed the King's absence and he was worried.

"I'm thinking about going back to Winterfell." Robb confessed to him. Bearing that thought on his own became far too much and too hard for him to keep it a secret anymore. He had again that far away look in his eyes. "Bran and Rickon are there, Sansa would be safer there as well, my mother would be reunited with her children, my men would see their wives and children." He said, speaking more to himself.

At first, he dismissed the idea thoroughly, but it remained somewhere in the back of his mind and now it seems like his only good option. "I'm thinking about giving up this war. We can't advance anymore, we don't have the men or powerful allies to reach out to. Most of them are declared to other Houses fighting in the war and if we keep going forward then it's a suicide in mass waiting to happen to all of us who are here."

Theon loved Robb like his own brother. But sometimes he wanted to smack his head with a rock. "If you give up on the war, then Joffrey wins." He says forcefully. The thought of that prick winning the game being so disgusting it nearly made him puke in his mouth. "Do you understand the gravity of that? All of our hope for a better future would be lost then. Lost for good."

"If we go back to Winterfell, then we'll spend the rest of our days living in fear of being attacked and we'll pass it on to our children and our children's children." Seeing there is no particular reaction standing out, Theon changes his tactic. "If we give up now, then your father died for nothing. Then your sister, Arya, will spend the rest of her life remembering a family that never came for her."

The King looks at him and the ironborn knew he hit where he should have. He continues. "Sansa will never trust another person for as long she lives and Bran or Rickon will eventually have to continue where you left off, I'm sure someone will force them to. Is that what you want for your family?" He will not allow Robb to become the North's embarrassment just because he is stumbling a little bit after constantly winning.

"Is it so bad that I want my family to live?" Robb fires back at him, his brows furrowing. "Be that either in misery or happiness, but just to live?"  Should he kill them all now and spare them the pain then? Or should he kill himself and spare the other kings efforts?

"When you're in your position, yes." Theon replies, lowering his voice, looking at him as a disappointed mother. Even more disappointed than the time they learned how to shoot arrows when despite Theon's advice, he kept missing the target. "Backing down would be the worst thing to do." Then he silences himself as he sees from the corner of his eye Lady Stark approaching.

"Forgive me for interrupting." The first thing Robb notices about her is that she sounds tired when she speaks. She looks more pale than usual too. "I came to inform you personally that I will be returning to Winterfell, preparing for my departure as soon as I finish speaking with you." She sighs knowing an explanation is expected of her. "The boys need me more than you do. Here... I'm afraid there is nothing left for me anymore."

The King in the North knew in the next moment that she must've spoken to Sansa and their scene together must've left her deeply disturbed if she was this set on leaving after one private conversation.

"Then I shall accompany you, my lady." Theon said standing to his feet. At that moment, Robb wanted to smash his head with a rock. "If you'll allow me, I will escort you myself back to the castle safe and sound." His mother nods and retires to pack her things, the ironborn gives him a cold stare. "By the time I return, I hope you'll come to your senses." And he leaves as well to prepare for the departure.

When they leave, Sansa gives them a polite goodbye and wishes them to have a safe road. Robb barely acknowledges what is happening because not only his best advisor is leaving him, but his best man as well. If it weren't for his mother, he would've left his sister to the lions. If it weren't for Theon, he would've given up on her. And now they were both leaving him to mend the situation on his own.

After that, he and Sansa retire to his tent. "How would you like it if we went back to Winterfell?" He asks her when they're lying on his bed under the furs about to fall asleep, the only sound being what was happening on the outside. Greywind nestled himself at the bed's food, he is getting so big and soon enough his curled body would be bigger than it...

Sansa turns to face him, her big blue eyes looking so doe alike it stabs Robb in the heart knowing what she had gone through. "I sure King Joffrey would be very pleased to hear that, your Grace." He holds back a growl and in exchange breathes out heavily. "We shall do it." It's only natural that to her Joffrey is the rightful King, but it doesn't mean that it hurts less to hear it.

She's basically telling him if she were to choose between the two of them, she'd pick that prick instead of him and that doesn't sit well with him. He wanted her to see him as her protector, her knight from her dreams when she was young, not some brute who's ready to toss her aside when the chance is given. Apparently, that is not going to happen today. Or anytime soon.

That night he changes his mind and chooses to stay.

He is not alarmed anymore when she starts shaking, but he awakens right away and cradles her small thin body into his arms whispering to her that he is there that he is her family and that he will keep her safe from her monsters. It's a process. A ritual. One that he had gotten too used to and in the back of his mind it begins to become quite inappropriate as well. He is sharing his bed with her as if she's his wife that is not normal.

Not for them at least. They are northerners. Not southerners or Targaryens.

Yet the need to comfort his sister is much bigger than his sense of propriety. "You're safe." He continues to whisper, kissing her hair. "You're with me. They are not real. I am. You're strong, you can fight it, Sansa. You're a wolf of the North, your fangs and your claws will carve into the lions until they will regret ever messing with you. Show them what you are made of."

When she calms, he finally lays back. She cries in her sleep more often than she has nightmares. He always finds her face in the morning wet or her pillow, but she never screams her pain. Strange as it might seem he wishes that she'd scream it out, take all the anger out in one go and then go back to herself. But he knows that doesn't happen, nor will it happen for a long while.

What they had done to her... even if it means he has to do it with his dying breath, he will see the Lannisters thoroughly paying for that. Sansa will never feel safe as long as they are alive, he realizes, which is why he must end them now. Now or never. He rises from the bed, careful not to wake his sister, goes to his desk and starts writing.

Sansa shifts in her sleep and wakes up light headed. Although the furs provided enough warmth, it was ultimately Robb that helped her get through the nights. The way he holds her, tight and gentle at the same time, everything he whispers to her she has memerisez and she replays his words in her mind as her own prayer. Praying to the Gods have brought her only pain and sorrow and she had given up on them.

She sees that she is only with Greywind and grows worried. What if something happened? What if they were attacked? What if King Joffrey decided he wanted to have revenge on her for running away with the Hound and has called his armies to annihilate theirs? She begins to shake with her knees to her chest and cries again. Had she forsaken Robb a fate worse than death? She feels she can't breathe anymore.

The King in the North who had been just outside instructing a messenger on delivering his letter immediately and come back just as quickly. "I must be the first and the only person who gets the reply. Follow the river course, not the King's road. I don't want any harm to come to you." The boy, not old enough to be called a man, bows before him and takes his leave on his horse.

When Robb returns and sees his sister so distressed, he gets to her in record timing. Taking her face between his hands, she looks at him with red eyes from crying and she throws her arms around his neck sobbing on his shoulder. "It's alright." He soothes her. "It's alright, Sansa. I'm here." He wonders if taking such gasps of air are common, but he doesn't dare to ask. "You must've been so frightened. I am so sorry I wasn't here for you."

She pulls away slightly, burying her face in his chest. "Every time I close my eyes I see them." Her fingers go through the material of his tunic and sting at his skin. "Everywhere I look I expect to see them jumping out of nowhere." Robb closes his eyes, feeling her pain. Once again he wishes he'd take it upon himself. "Every morning I imagine some guards coming to take me back."

"I'd rather die than allow them to take you away from me again." The Young Wolf growls cradling her head as she cried it out. "If there is anyone who wants to attempt taking you back to King's Landing, they will have to go through my entire army, Greywind and I. You're not alone, Sansa. Not anymore."

He holds her as she keeps crying, forgets that he needs to rest and that is late. He will hold her until morning and next sunset if he has to. If she wants him to. Seven bloody Gods, he will do anything for her.

"I can't..." she wailed in his chest. "I can't bear the pain. It's too much for me! Every time I think I'm getting better I see Joffrey again and I realize I am only getting worse."

"Yes, you can." Robb encouraged her. "You are a wolf of the North, you are much stronger than you think."

She didn't argue with him again and neither did he. He allowed her to cry herself back to sleep, didn't let go even for a moment, refusing to let any other thoughts come to his mind that weren't related to Sansa and her well being. When he laid her back down, it might have been that he was so tired he was imagining things, but he could've sworn he heard her voice muttering to him.

"Thank you, Robb..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hasn't been checked yet. Apologies for any typing erros, words missing or grammar mistakes.

"Ser Clegane."

Sandor rolled his eyes and scoffed. "The fuck you want now, boy?" He can't enjoy his food anymore with those dumb northerners all staring at him like he's a walking disease. What's next? They won't let him piss in peace? All he sees when he looks around this camp are weak cunts whom he could kill with his eyes closed. He wonders how they had managed to survive so far.

Robb looks at him unfazed. He had gotten used to the man's vulgar language. "I heard you have some unfinished business in King's Landing." But you don't need words when you're sword fighting the enemy. And as much as he hated to do so, he knew what the Hound was capable of. He didn't dare to take on Jaime Lannister and clearly, he is not stupid enough to get into a fight with Sandor Clegane.

Drowning the piss they called ale, he wiped his mouth with his hand before responding. "And you care because?" He hated sweet approaches with passion. And he knew the Young Wolf, as he is called, clearly wanted more than a mere chat with tea and biscuits. This boy the people had chosen as their King better be a mastermind in strategic battles or he will certainly be the North's downfall.

"I have a plan..."

* * *

 "Your Grace." Ser Davos bows respectfully before his King. "There is a messenger here who would like to speak with you. Forgive me for getting ahead of myself, but I took the liberty to question him first to see if he is worth your time and I believe he brings a very interesting proposition. One that you would like to hear."

Stannis nods and thinks about it for a while before making the decision, taking in his hand's impression as well. "Bring him in." It couldn't hurt to hear the message. Even Lady Melisandre nods her approval.

* * *

 Sansa woke up with Greywind by her side, but no Robb, snuggled in his fur using him as a pillow rather than her own. His body was so warm and his fur so soft, she felt safe and content for the first time since she left Winterfell. And she did not wish to rise. She was living in a dream and at the moment she preferred the dream over reality. Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep again.

"I feel like I am interrupting something. Should I give you two some privacy?" Sansa smiled at the sound of her brother's voice and raised her head to politely wish him a good morning. Robb was smiling down at them as if they were everything he had ever wanted and nothing else matter. "Both of you look very cozy, but where I am to sleep if my bed is occupied?"

"You shouldn't worry about that." Sansa wraps her arms around the wolf's head. "Greywind and I are planning to run away together." She says caressing his back with a tiny soft smile, shy and playful. Her eyes seem to sparkle and Robb can't help his smile. This is the most alive she seems to be since Theon's joke. Whatever he's doing, he knows he is doing it right.

The King in the North looks at his direwolf, raising an eyebrow. "Would you leave me like that?" Greywind chirps at him in return, rising to his feet only to turn his behind to his master. Robb's jaw drops in fake shock, his smile never leaving his face, as Sansa holds back her giggles. "I feel so betrayed." His sister giggles are muffled by the grey fur of his wolf, but even muffled they sound like pretty bells to him.

Walking to sit by her side, Greywind moves off the bed lazily and reluctantly. "I had something made for you. Something that I'm certain you're going to like." He tells her. The bright blue eyes look at him and he turns to point at the table only to have his good mood drop seeing that his direwolf was enjoying himself with Sansa's surprise. "Aaand he's already eaten most of them."

Does a wolf have any idea how hard it is to find lemons at war camps or expensive and rare such treats are? Obviously not. Truth to be told they smelled really great and he had to contain himself from taking one, knowing he'd end up taking a lot more. But if Robb was able to fight the temptation then Greywind has no excuse. "I had the cooks make you some lemon cakes..." He says sheepishly.

Sansa's looks at him and then at the wolf still munching on the cakes, Robb notes to himself that he is going to scold him for the lack of manners after being caught red-handed, then back at him. She throws her head backward and starts laughing joyfully, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck, her shaking with each laugh, barely getting her words out. "Thank you so much for that."

Feeling a little better, proved that he didn't ruin everything again and pulls away just to watch with a dazed smile his sister laughing. "Thank you, so, so, so much. I'm so grateful to you." And she plants the sweetest kiss on his cheek hugging him again.

He waits until her laughter dies out to discuss a more serious matter with her. "Sansa..." He takes her both of her hands in his. "I know how much you want to go home. And I swear I will take you home." He will see her back in Winterfell even if takes his dying breath. "But we have to make one last stop before that. Do you think you can resist until then?" He asks caressing her cheek with the back of his finger.

She looks down for a moment, considering, then gives him a hopeful glance and one full of trust. "Only if you promise to join me today." She negotiated. "I heard water when we were walking with Theon and I think there might be a river somewhere close. Can we look for it? Just the two of us?" Sansa could bare only for so long being in the camp constantly reminded that they are at war. It would mean a lot to her to get a break from all of that.

"By all means." Robb nods, standing up and offering her his hand. Greywind rises his head interested as well. "No, you don't get to come." He dismisses his wolf quickly. "You are going to stay here and think about what you did." Sansa might have let it slide that he ruined her surprise, but Robb is not. "I'll wait for you to get ready, you'll find me nearby." He is going to inspect the troops to make do of his time.

The young lady gets ready in record time. Choosing a simple dress and a simple braid, she looks at herself in the mirror and for the first time, she is not ashamed by what she sees. Robb will protect her. Robb will fight for her. And he will keep his promise and take her home. What is one last stop compared to the years she spent in the capital? She can do this. She tells herself. She is a wolf of the North and it's her time to bite back.

After she finds him, they sneak out of the camp together wishing to be with no one else but each other. The guards, although well intended, would ruin the mood. This was a symbolical moment for them, leaving behind who they are and becoming for a short while what they are. Young energetic children, without a worry or a care in the world, who enjoy themselves.

As Sansa had guessed there was a river near the path they walked, one which they found rather easily, but it was far more beautiful than what she imagined. The area itself was breath-taking, the kind of place that you could spend a thousand years without getting tired or bored. Wasting no time, she takes off her boots and dips her bare feet into the water.

Cold and relaxing, Sansa closes her eyes to feel the moment deeper. She breathes in and out, enjoying even the wind in her hair which most times she found annoying and unneeded. But Robb being her big brother first, then her King, chooses to ruin that by splashing water at her and bringing her back to reality. Trying to get away from his pestering, she starts skipping rocks and go farther.

Robb keeps dipping his hands into the water and splashing it at her, then he starts following her with an evil grin on his face. More concentrated on his sister than where he was stepping, the King in the North slips on one stone right when he has nearly caught up her and falls completely into the river. "Ow, fuck it out!" A fall that was not very graceful of his Grace.

Sansa laughs so hard and so loud that she nearly loses her balance, but jumps into the river as well caring little very that she soaked her dress entirely. She and Robb swim the rest of the way to each other reuniting into a warm hug despite the chilly water they were in. Gazing into each other's eyes, it feels as if time had stopped for them and the world around them as well.

There were no wars to fight. No betrayals. No political manipulation or battling strategies. No worries about men and women losing their lives, not having enough food, not having enough money. There was just the two of them enjoying what might be the only day in their lives when they have been so relaxed and detached. And neither wanted it to stop or ever end.

With newfound courage, guided by gut which for the first time agreed with his head, Robb dips his head and kisses her on the lips softly. Pulls away only for a moment to see her reaction, but her hands emerge from the water and bring his head back to her. She doesn't know how to kiss, but she wants him to do it again.

Far more experienced with battles than romance, he kisses her again clumsily and briefly, not exactly knowing how to do it properly. This was his first real kiss and he was more focused on making Sansa feel good and worried as well not wanting to trigger her bad memories. Sansa takes his face in her hands and kisses him again with the grace only a lady like her could.

Wordlessly agreeing to return to camp, she takes his hand and they hurry back shivering slightly from the chilly water. His people try to stop and ask them what happened, but they keep silent and head straight to his tent. Greywind is there waiting for them, but soon moves outside and sits as a guard. "Good boy." Robb mutters to him sliding the fabrics to the metal pole so that they would have the maximum privacy.

He eagerly returns to her and presses his lips against her forehead, her lips, her nose, and her jaw and from her slight tremble under his lips he knows that so far he's doing it right. Ready to stop anytime if she feels it is too much, he's glad to see her responding. Her soft fingers tug at his hair nudging them to be closer than their bodies allow it.

His gentle hands on her hips guide her backward and lay her on her back as if she the most fragile glass they ever held. He pulls back to take off his tunic, but the wet material seemed glued to his skin and puts quite the effort into it, eventually getting it off with Sansa's help. Her hands move on his chest, having seen Joffrey before this is probably her first time seeing a built chest. And from the desire in his eyes, she seems to like it.

He takes off her dress as he used to undo ties (as a child he had to learn how to do and undo knots in case he had to tie a prisoner or free himself if he is the one tied up) but without hurrying (he had to learn how to do it fast). For a brief moment, her hands fly to her chest and he steps back afraid he had overstepped his boundaries. When Sansa looks down at herself, Robb realizes what her problem was.

She was ashamed of her scars. That bastard had left her with scars! His fists clench and she pulls the furs to her body. Taking a breath to calm himself, Robb kneels down before her and kisses her hands. He wants her to know she is not at fault and he is angry with Joffrey not her, but the only words he can utter are. "You're so beautiful." Perhaps it doesn't help his cause, but that's the only thing on his mind.

She beautiful as the first snow in Winterfell. Stunning as if their aunt Lyanna (whom had often been referred to as the most beautiful woman born in the North) physical look had been passed on to her combined with the classic Tully hair. "You're so beautiful." He doesn't know why he's saying it again, but he knows it's the truth. And repeats it over and over peppering her fingers with pecks going back up to her face.

She stops him after a while and wraps her arms around his neck, pressing his head into her chest. "I love you." She didn't want to let him go. She wanted to hold on to him until one of them dies. Robb will keep her safe. Robb will love her as she deserves to be loved. Robb will never treat her like Joffrey. She will be his Queen one day, not his toy.

"I love you too." The Young Wolf is smitten, met with the kind of vulnerability he had never felt until now. He was a warrior, not a sentimental, which was shown heavily by his lack of better words. And he knew that from this day on he will be her most loyal soldier, ready to die for her any time, ready to fight for her until his last breath. If the Gods were to take him, he'd go being in her arms or not at all.

This time she allows him to take off her dress. Despite his pants being so tight it hurt, Robb puts that aside in favor of kissing her scars. He kisses each and every one of them always telling her how beautiful she was to him, but silently vows to give Joffrey twice as many when he gets his hands on the Boy King.

He takes his time, makes sure she feels what he cannot put in words, doesn't take his pants off until he is sure she knows how much he loves her as she is. Her scars are nothing to be ashamed of. To him, they are proof of how much a fighter she is, how brave and strong she is. She is the strongest wolf and he only wishes he could be like her one day. Able to rise like that after such a fall.

He spills embarrassingly fast because she is too much for him to resist long. Too beautiful. Too heated. Too perfect. And he doesn't deserve her. When she comes, clenching around him insanely, when she shivers in his arms having given herself completely to him, he finishes as well unable to resist anymore. He heard from men with experience that the first is the most amazing one, but never how fast it ends.

Laying with their limbs tangled together, lazily kissing now having the heat and the rush gone, Robb knows he will never want another woman as much as he wants Sansa and Sansa knows that she is loved. She feels pretty again. They fall asleep soon after, both of them having the most rest they had in years. They know that despite everything that happened, things will start to get better.

The sun will rise again with a new challenge and with them ready to face it.

* * *

 "You haven't told me where are we going yet." Sansa says as they prepare to move again. He getting their belongings ready as she pets Greywind while eating her breakfast. Robb doesn't tell her until they leave their former camp and reach their new destination. Another empty field where they are first to arrive. From the trees emerge two people, but not in the least whom Robb had expected.

"Your Grace. My lady." Theon gives a respectful bow to both of them. "When I arrived back to Winterfell, I found this deserter of the Night's Watch. And I thought of you and how you are the only people who have the right to decide his fate."

Sansa nearly falls off her horse from rushing so fast and practically runs all the way to Jon. Jon runs too. Meeting each other halfway, she jumps in his open arms. Despite the different lives they led together, a brother and a sister are being reunited and they hug tightly to show how much they had missed each other not daring to think that they will meet again. Theon smiles as he gets down off his horse to get his hug as well.

"Your Grace." Jon says eyeing Robb from head to toe, being a King fits him well but he could lose those curls. They fit him better. "My fate is in your hands." He says with a near chuckle. When he heard Robb had gone at war, all logic left his mind. All he knew was that he needed to be by his brother's side. Despite the other Watcher's attempts to convince him to come back, his mind was set. His family needed him and he had to be there for them.

"Well, Snow." Robb walks up to him unable to contain his smile. "I am going to give you the worst punishment that there is to give. You're going to have to follow my every command and start attending meetings as well." Together they crash into a hug, neither of them voicing just how happy they were to see each other again.

"...The meetings are very boring, aren't they?"

"The most."

He can live with that. Probably. Hopefully.

"So." Theon asks when they part, not wanting to interrupt their family reunion. They are many families torn apart than reunited these days. "Have you come to your senses?"

"Yes." Robb replies. "We're on our way to take King's Landing." Sansa forgets for herself in that moment, gasps audibly, backing into Jon who wraps his arms around her for comfort. Robb looks at her apologetically. "Hear me out first and none of you start yelling until I'm done." Robb takes a deep breath. "I've struck a deal with Stannis Baratheon and declared us for him."

Theon doesn't say anything but starts looking with his eyes for a rock. Jon frowns and starts considering whether it was the right choice to desert the Night's Watch. Sansa wants to yell at him, but she refrains herself. "We have more than twenty thousand men and before me, I see the greatest swordsmen who have ever lived. Stannis has himself over twenty thousand men as well."

"And you think that they will be enough to take King's Landing?" Theon asks, unsure of what to believe of this, feeling there is more to come.

"With nearly fifty thousand men fighting together, the element of surprise on our side, yes. I truly believe we can take King's Landing in one maybe two days. The agreement we made consists that if we are to win, Stannis will be crowned King of the Six Kingdoms." That's when Robb pauses and smirks to himself at the looks on their faces. "For we agreed that the North will remain a free and independent Kingdom."

Robb walks up to his sister and takes her hands in his. "Joffrey promised he will give you my head, but I will be the one to give you his." He says softly. "I had sworn to get revenge for you and for our father and after the fight is over, we're going back to Winterfell and we're never leaving it again."

"I believe in you." Sansa tells him with a small smile, giving him a look full of trust. "If you tell me we can take King's Landing, then I'm certain we will. It will be my greatest pleasure to be by your side. Now and always."

"Now and always." Robb repeats pressing a long kiss on her forehead.

When the horn blows and Stannis' banner begin to emerge, so many at once one wouldn't be able to count them all, the banners blowing into winds as theirs do, Sansa looks around herself at Robb, Jon and Theon, Greywind, and surprisingly enough, even The Hound, she remembers something her father had told her once.

When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies. But the pack survives.


End file.
